By Mike Ojoobanikan
Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, a former Health Minister; Prof. Banji Akintoye, Senator of the Second Republic; Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Chief Remi Omotoso were among many elders who warned of dial consequences if the coming governorship election in Ekiti is rigged or marred by violence. The group addressed the media this evening in Ikeja, Lagos.
Operating under the umbrella of Igbimo Ure Ekiti (IUE), they condemned in strong terms the plan by the major political parties to adopt rigging, violence, thuggery and killing on Saturday July 14, 2018 when voters in Ekiti will elect a candidate that will become governor as the tenure of Ayodele Fayose will expire in three month’s time. Rather, they advocated “one man, one vote, orderliness, the spirit of sportsmanship among contestants, peace and tranquillity.”
Other prominent Ekiti citizens present at the event were: Mr Dare Babarinsa, Asiwaju Esan Ogunleye, Mr Ayo Ajayi, Mr Gbenga Oyebode, Engineer Dare Ojo and Mr Dele Adesina (SAN).
Adelusi-Adeluyi said members of IUE are “mindful of the demonstrated desperation erupting from some of the participants in the ongoing electoral process in the state.”
He added: “For instance, while the opposition members believe that they are unstoppable in their quest to capture power and that they will stop at nothing to achieve this, the party in power, on the other hand, believes that it is immovable.
“Therein lies the danger unless something decisive is done by the well-meaning members of Ekiti State and those that are directly involved in organising and conducting the election. There is also the issue of maintenance of law and order to ensure a free, fair and transparent process to guarantee that the will of the people prevails at the end of the election. We can’t stand idly by while all this is going on,” he said.
“The overriding purpose of this press conference, therefore, is to say ‘No to rigging. No to violence. No to thuggery. No to killing. No to ballot-box snatching and No to vandalism.’ On the other hand, to say with the unity of purpose; ‘Yes, to one man, one vote, Yes to orderliness, Yes to the spirit of sportsmanship and Yes to peace and tranquillity.’ This is the purpose of this conference,” he declared.
The IUP president, while arguing that the strategic gains of a peaceful, free, fair, and transparent election, where the choice of the electorate was paramount cannot be overemphasised, said the need for the safety and security of the people must be of paramount concern to political players.
Adelusi-Adeluyi recalled the violence that trailed political contest in Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014 and what he described as the inconsistencies of the State Electoral Commissioner, Madam Ayoka Adebayo as well as an earlier one in 1983 during the Second Republic. He declared: “For us as a people and in particular members of Igbimo Ure Ekiti, we must protect the safety and security of our people in our land.”
While pointing out that fact of history had shown that “Ekiti people regard cheating with aversion,” Adelusi-Adeluyi pleaded with all the stakeholders, including the Federal Government, the Ekiti State government as well as the security agencies to please allow electorate in the state to elect their own governor under a free and fair atmosphere in the interest of peace and stability of the state in particular and that of the nation in general.
“IEU wishes to appeal to appeal to all the stakeholders, including but not limited to the government at the centre, the state government as well as the security agencies to please allow Ekiti State’s electorate elect their own governor under a free and fair atmosphere in the interest of peace and stability of the state in particular and also that of the nation in general,” he said.
“As a people, we must learn from history. The failure to learn from history is the reason for repeating the same mistakes,” the IUE president warned.
Prof Akintoye, while saying that he is always sad seing the desperation for power exhibited by current crop of Nigerian politicians unlike those in the past, declared that his message was that politicians angling for power should conduct themselves in a way that would not bring about loss of lives or disruption of peace that the society enjoyed.
This was just as he also said that Ekiti people were aversed to rigging, adding: “If anybody wants to rig, Ekiti people have the power to resist, but we don’t want violence.”
In his own remark, Chief Olanipekun (SAN) charges the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that what would be announced as the outcome of the July 14, 2018 election was truly the wishes of Ekiti people.
“Let what would be announced by the electoral umpire at the end of the exercise (election) be the true wishes of the people,” he said.